Photo Recap: Day 4 of WPT Hollywood Poker Open

By BJ Nemeth

Day 4 of the WPT Hollywood Poker Open was relatively quick, as you’d expect when the field only needs to play down from nine players to six. But while the day went quickly, it definitely didn’t go as expected — there were several major reversals of fortune and the biggest pot of the tournament to end the day and propel one player to a massive chip lead.

Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel begins stacking his chips before play begins on Day 4. The WPT hat in the foreground belongs to ClubWPT.com qualifier Andy Whetstone, who had all nine players sign it as a personalized souvenir. When William Reynolds signed it, he said it was a really cool idea and sort of wished he had done something like that.

Steve Barshak unbags his chips at the start of Day 4. Barshak finished Day 3 strong, eliminating Steven Kelly in the final hand to take the lead, but Day 4 would not go as well for him.

Terry Jacobs (center) shakes hands with Erik Seidel after busting out in ninth place in Hand #19. Jacobs lost a preflop race when his [AhKc] failed to improve against the [QcQs] of Mike Scarborough (foreground, right).

In Hand #18, Allen Kessler (right) reraised Erik Seidel preflop from the small blind, and then bet out on the flop of [Ah7s4c]. Seidel called, and when the [8h] hit the turn, Kessler check-folded to Seidel’s bet, showing [9d9h] before tossing his cards into the muck. Kessler, who entered the day fifth in chips, was starting to get pretty short.

In Hand #23, short stack Andy Whetstone (right) contemplated whether or not to call the bet from Day 3 chipleader Steve Barshak (left) on a board of [Js9d3s4h]. Whetstone chose to fold, saving the few chips he had left, and Barshak took the pot. Whetstone spent most of the day below 20 big blinds, but never found himself in an all-in situation. (Though he did shove preflop two times without any callers.)

In Hand #30, Allen Kessler faced an all-in bet from Mike Scarborough (foreground, right) on a board of [KsQd9cJc7h]. Kessler called all in with [AhKh] for a pair of kings, but Scarborough turned over [Qc10d] to win the pot with a king-high straight. This was the second time this season that Kessler made the final nine of a WPT event, but couldn’t reach the televised final table. Kessler told the WPT cameras, "I run so bad at these final tables."

Royal Flush Girl Melanie Iglesias interviews Erik Seidel during a break, doing a ClubWPT.com segment called "Five for Five Dollars," where a poker pro must answer five random questions to earn a five-dollar bill. Seidel probably wasn’t doing it for the money, since he has already earned more than $4.3 million in tournaments so far in 2011 — and that doesn’t even include what he will earn in this event.

In Hand #41, William Reynolds (left) played a pot against Erik Seidel (foreground, right). Seidel called the bet from Reynolds on the turn, and then took the pot with a bet on the river with the board showing [10d8s2hQd7c].

In Hand #42, Mike Scarborough (right) bet the turn on a board of [AsKdQd10s], but folded to a raise from Ali Eslami (left). Tom Marchese (center, left) sat this hand out from the small blind.

Hand #43 would be the last of the day, and the biggest pot of the tournament, as William Reynolds (standing, left) got in a preflop raising war against Mike Barshak (center). Barshak raised under the gun, Reynolds reraised from the big blind, Barshak reraised, Reynolds re-reraised, and Barshak six-bet all in.

Reynolds called with [QdQs], and Barshak turned over [AcKs] for a race situation. The board came [JcJs5d10dQh], giving Barshak an ace-high straight on the river. Unfortunately for him, the same card gave Reynolds a full house (queens full of jacks), and start-of-day chipleader Barshak was eliminated in seventh place on the TV bubble.

After the final hand, William Reynolds told the table, "The ladies are treating me well," referring to the pocket queens he just used to win the biggest pot of the tournament. Then he remembered that the Royal Flush Girls had been sweating the action nearby, and added, "The Royal Flush Girls are representing the ladies well too." (The Royal Flush Girls, from left to right: Katrina Topacio, Melanie Iglesias, Michelle Banzer, and Jennifer Haley.)

ClubWPT.com qualifier Andy Whetstone, who started the day as the shortest stack with just 20 big blinds but outlasted three players with larger stacks, was the first to congratulate Reynolds, saying, "Thank you, Bill. My fifteen minutes of fame turned into four days."

Seventh-place finisher and TV "Bubble Boy" Steve Barshak stands for an exit interview in the background, describing what must be a gut-wrenching experience — starting as the chipleader with nine players left and finishing seventh. Meanwhile, William Reynolds (center) had more stacks of chips than he had ever had before, and gave into the temptation of spilling them into one giant pile. Also pictured, Mike Scarborough (left) and Royal Flush Girls Katrina Topacio and Melanie Iglesias.

Official chip counts for the WPT final table:

Seat 1. Andy Whetstone – 80,500 (16 BBs)
Seat 2. Erik Seidel – 645,000 (129 BBs)
Seat 3. Ali Eslami – 213,000 (42 BBs)
Seat 4. Tom Marchese – 175,000 (35 BBs)
Seat 5. Mike Scarborough – 654,500 (130 BBs)
Seat 6. William Reynolds – 1,169,000 (233 BBs)

The televised WPT final table begins Wednesday at 4:00 pm ET. Return to WorldPokerTour.com for complete live coverage of every check, bet, call, raise, and fold, along with updated chip counts for every hand. And check out the Jess & BJ Final Table Preview Show, which should be posted here in the updates by 12:00 noon.